Jaiswal's sour relationship with Mumbai skipper Rahane prompted switch to Goa? Bag-kicking episode surfaces

India Test opener Yashavi Jaiswal gave a big setback to Mumbai Cricket Association as he decided to part ways with the state team and move to Goa for the upcoming Indian domestic cricket season. 

Jaiswal, who is currently playing for Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing IPL 2025, submitted a request to MCA for non-objection certificate (NOC) to play for Goa for the upcoming domestic season. In the letter, Jaiswal wrote that it was a difficult decision to leave Mumbai, given that he spent all his life in the city of dreams. He further added that Goa offered him a leadership role, which he could not deny. 

Jaiswal began his professional career with Mumbai, where represented the team across all age group levels before moving on to play for the senior side. The 23-year-old made his Mumbai senior team in the Ranji Trophy match against Chhattisgarh at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in January 2019. Since then, he played all formats of the game for Mumbai. He also emerged as the batting mainstay for Mumbai cricket team across all formats, specially first-class and List-A cricket, where he played crucial roles in Mumbai’s success.

Also read: Yashasvi Jaiswal REVEALS reason for changing his state team from Mumbai to Goa

Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fallout with Ajinkya Rahane

Despite Yashasvi Jaiswal making it clear about his decision to leave Mumbai and move to Goa for the upcoming domestic season, the reports emerged that not all was well with Jaiswal and Mumbai management, especially skipper Ajinkya Rahane. The two had a sour relationship, which reportedly came to a head during the last Ranji Trophy season. 

According to a report by India Today, Mumbai coach Omkar Salve and skipper Rahane questioned Jaiswal’s commitment to the team after the defeat against Jammu and Kashmir in the group-stage fixture at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy in BKC in January this year. In that match, the young batter failed to deliver his best as he scored 4 and 26 in both the innings. Jaiswal went to the dressing room and kicked the kit bag of Ajinkya Rahane out of frustration after Mumbai skipper and Salve questioned his commitment. 

Ajinkya Rahane and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s relationship began to sour when the former, who was West Zone captain, sent-off the latter for continuously sledging South Zone batter Ravi Teja in the Duleep Trophy final in 2022. Despite repeated warnings by the on-field umpires, Jaiswal continued to sledge the opposition team’s batter. After realising that Yashasvi Jaiswal was crossing his limits, Ajinkya Rahane gave marching orders to his young teammate. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal unhappy with constant scrutiny 

The report further added that Yashasvi Jaiswal was unhappy with constant scrutiny over his limited participation for Mumbai in domestic cricket. After he graduated to the India Test side after consistent performance in first-class cricket, Jaiswal appeared in limited outings for the Mumbai team owing to national commitments. This constant scrutiny over his commitment to Mumbai might have made Jaiswal alienated with the setup. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal made himself available for Mumbai's group-stage fixture against Jammu and Kashmir after the BCCI mandated all the players to participate in domestic cricket in order to get considered for the national selection. The board’s decision came after Team India had a disastrous Border-Gavaksar Trophy, failing to defend the title for the first time in 10 years after losing the five-match series 1-3 to Australia. 

However, Yashasvi Jaiswal was a standout player for Team India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he aggregated 391 runs, including a century and two fifties, at an average of 43.44 in 10 innings.

Also read: Yashasvi Jaiswal to play for Goa: Look back at opening batter's career in Mumbai